Tommy Keene  into the covers at ST94

Well respected for his many finely crafted albums as well as his invigorating live shows, singer-songwriter and Bethesda, Md., native Tommy Keene has been delighting his many fans since 1979.

Keene not only doesn’t show any signs of slowing down, but rather seems to be getting better with age. For example, one of Keene’s recent studio albums, “Behind the Parade,” released in 2011, is widely considered his best record to date. High praise indeed, considering that all nine of his previous studio albums were also acclaimed for their enticing musical content.

Keene’s latest album, “Excitement at Your Feet,” is a real departure for him, as it is Keene’s first collection of songs that are not written by him. In addition, none of the cover songs were big hits, as is usually the case. They are songs that met with only mild success, despite their being recorded by well-known artists.

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“It was kind of a natural progression,” Keene said of his new album in a recent interview. “To do hit cover songs was too obvious. These are songs by well-known artists that people haven’t heard. Anyhow, they are songs I like and I think other people will like them too once they hear them.”

Keene is currently on tour promoting his new record and one of his stops will be at Sellersville Theater 1894 on Wednesday, Sept. 11.

Anyone who is a fan of Keene’s music should make a serious effort to see the show, because, as he pointed out, he and his three fellow musicians only tour about once every two years or so, with Keene spending much more of his time diligently writing songs. The 55-year-old musical artist has written about 200 songs to date.

In the beginning Keene took a somewhat serpentine trip to get to where he is today. He started out with piano lessons at 5 years old and eventually switched to drums, becoming a drummer in a band when he was just 11 years old. Ultimately Keene’s choice of instruments, like most singer-songwriters, came to be the guitar.

“I went from drums to bass guitar to lead guitar by the time I was 16,” Keene said, “making my way from the back of the stage to the front.”

At the age of 19, Keene was getting noticed for his fine guitar playing and singing and was recruited by the “biggest band in the Washington, D.C., area,” Razz. That was in 1978.

After subsequently playing with some bands in New York City, Keene formed his own group in 1981, with his career reaching new heights shortly thereafter, beginning with the release of his first album, “Strange Alliance,” in 1982.

According to Keene, a few timely and substantial occurrences gave him the boost he ultimately needed.

“In 1983,” Keene said, “I made a single, ‘Back to Zero Now,’ that got a lot of attention. It was very popular and got a lot of air play and that seemed to set everything in motion.”

Keene also referred to a 1984 EP, “Places That Are Gone,” as a big factor in his blossoming career. It not only put Keene on the CMJ charts, but was also named the No. 1 EP of the year in a Village Voice critics’ poll. This record, referred to on the Internet as romantic, melodious and invigorating, firmly established Keene as a gifted singer-songwriter as well as a guitar player of distinction.

The success of “Places That Are Gone,” Keene pointed out, led to yet another fortuitous development for him — signing a contract with Geffen Records.

“Signing with a major label like Geffen was a big help to my career,” Keene said.

Keene, whose band once opened for the Stray Cats (1983) and did a couple of shows with Pearl Jam (2006), moved to Hollywood, Calif., in 1988, where he continues to live the quiet life of a hard-working and prolific songwriter, touring outside sunny California, as stated earlier, just occasionally.

Keene describes his music as follows: “It is what I like to call melodic rock ’n’ roll,” Keene said, “but with a contemporary feel to it. It is music that greatly influenced me, but is not in a time warp. It is classically influenced, but not dated. What is interesting is that anyone who listens to my music can pick out things that remind them of the Beatles and the Who,” who, along with the Rolling Stones, are among Keene’s favorite bands.

Keene, who once wrote a song “Nothing Can Change You” that became a huge hit for a band called the Goo Goo Dolls, said visitors to the Sellersville Theater show should expect an exhilarating experience.

“We are a great rock ’n’ roll band,” Keene said. “We are a tight group, with good, memorable songs and good harmony, and we put on a pretty high-energy, exciting and dynamic show.”

Keene said that the band will play about five songs from his new album at the Sellersville show, with the rest of the night dedicated to Keene’s own songs.